Tuesday, March 31, 2015

A couple of weeks ago I had a genius idea. We were going to raise chickens. We were going to buy some baby chicks for Easter. The kids were going to be small-time farmers and we were never going to buy another egg again. Granted we live in the suburbs of a big city, in a neighborhood with an HOA, and in a community that doesn't allow farm animals within its city limits. But, since when did a few little laws stop us from doing what we wanted. No wonder the kids scoff at my rules. I am such a fine example of obedience. I ordered the chicks online from a local farm, because these days even chicken farmers accept Paypal. Today they were ready for us to pick them up. Scott was not thrilled about the prospect of chicken farming, but he didn't say much to stop us from following through with our plans. Maybe he could foresee just how short our experiment would be. We had a great day at the farm. The weather was warm, the allergies were controllable, and we were on the cusp of making big on our dreams of an Egg Empire.

After playing for a couple of hours. We were ready to take posession of our chicks. Names were quickly given to our four fluffy friends-Flick (as in Chick Flick), Nugget (as in Chicken Nugget), Hot (as in Hot Chick), and Joe Flacco because Nash has a one-track mind. Little did we know how prophetic the names Hot and Nugget would prove to be in just a few short hours. The woman at the farm kept stressing how much the chicks needed a heat lamp, even if we were keeping them indoors. I kept thinking, "I got it! I got it!" But, maybe I should have asked a few more questions. I put our shoebox of baby chickens on the front seat with the seat warmer on high. We made a quick stop at the farm supply store for a heat lamp and some chicken wire before we headed home. The kids were so excited to get to know Flick, Hot, Nugget and Joe. I let them play with them for a couple of minutes when we arrived home. It was love at first hold.

We gently dumped them in a bucket with the heat lamp plugged in above their fuzzy little chicken heads. I gave Nash and Harley explicit instructions to keep them safe from what I assumed would be their greatest threat, the cat. Atley and I headed outside to nail some chicken wire to the kid's playhouse which was going to serve as our brand new chicken coop. We had been outside for about 5 minutes when Nash peeked his head out and said, "The chicks aren't moving too much anymore." My reply, "They are probably just tired and stressed out from their journey. Go protect them!" Two more minutes pass and Nash was back outside. "Mom, I think something is wrong with our chickens." My reply, "Well, maybe unplug the heat lamp. They might be getting too warm." Two minutes later, I hear Scott's truck pull into the garage. I was a little anxious to see/hear his reaction when he saw the baby chicks but nothing could have prepared me for what he said. I could see him approaching the Bucket of Chicken through the kitchen window and I saw him back away from them fairly quickly. He came out the back door and said, "Why do we have a bucket of dead chicks on our kitchen table?" My reply, "Oh, my gosh! Enough. They are not dead. They are just exhausted." Nash's reply, "No, mom. I think they really are dead. They even kind of smell cooked." My reply, (yes, I am great at denial) "Whatever! Bring me the bucket. Their house is almost ready anyway." Nash brought me a bucket of dead chicken and not the Kentucky Fried kind of bucket of dead chicken. The cooked-with-all-their-feathers-under-a-heat-lamp bucket of dead chicken. Actually, that might be the same thing. Anyway, our Egg Empire is history and the kids were only farmers for 15 minutes. They learned a lot about life and death and I learned that heat lamps have various watts for varying conditions.

If you happen by our house and wonder what the little white cross in our back yard represents, it is the burial site of four beloved chickens, who lived hard and died young. Harley has been drawing pictures of them for the past few hours. Assuring us she has to do it now, before she completely forgets what they looked like. It is all rather heartbreaking.

We have many traditions in our family. Many, okay maybe most, are really only loved by myself and the kids just play along because they know it makes me happy. But, the Easter Seder is not one of those only-for-mom traditions. My kiddos love the Easter Seder. They have been asking about when our Seder was going to take place since Valentine's Day. A Seder is a ceremonial Jewish meal. The food is representative of different events in Jewish Scripture. For example, the Passover Meal is considered a Seder. The food and scriptures read during our Easter Seder are all representative of the events of Jesus' last week of life. For a full list of foods and instructions you can check out my ORIGINAL POST about hosting an Easter Seder.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

I'm usually an apple pie or cinnamon kind of a girl, but you have to change up your smells in the Spring and Summer. A friend gave me this lovely candleand it is amazing. It might be my favorite Yankee scent ever.

2.

I love the BRIGHT pink lip trend, especially for spring. My favorite isSatin Fuchsia. It lasts ALL day and doesn't bleed or dry out your lips. Perfection.

3.

Remember this guy? Brandon Flowers, The Killers front-man, is releasing a solo album in May. The first single, Can't Deny My Love is available now. Love it-love him. Still want to be a Rock Star.

The only way I know it is actually spring-time here is because the kids start Spring Break this week, Nash has officially switched from basketball to baseball, and Atley's nose is plugged because of allergies. Nothing seems to be blooming and it is still freezing cold but the weather man claims that we are only a couple of weeks away from full Cherry Blossom Bloom.

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This next favorite might be a little controversial, but I am so excited that Overalls and Jumpsuits are back in style. I feel like their comfiness far outweighs their ugliness. Here are two of my favorites from Target!

7.

WARNING: These Coconut Cashews from Trader Joe's are like CRACK. They are super addictive but oh, so very yummy! Buy a bag or twenty today.

8.

There is something about having fresh flowers in your house that really brightens the mood, even on the dreariest of days. I have always tried to have fresh flowers somewhere in my house. These bouquets both came from Trader Joe's (a dozen roses for $4.99 right now). But, sometimes I buy them from Safeway or even Wal-Mart and when the weather is better, we like to pick some wild flowers or daffodils ourselves. It doesn't cost a lot and it makes a big difference in the mood and decor of our home.

9.

My most favorite thing about spring is watching my two favorite lefties play ball.

I hate posting pictures that I have taken with my iPhone, but my camera is broken and even though it is killing me, life goes on and life must be recorded even if it is recorded with grainy, unfocused pictures. First world problems, right? It's a good thing my birthday is right around the corner. Isn't it Mom and Husband?

Anyway, last weekend we woke up with one of only a handful of Saturdays where there was nothing scheduled, nothing planned and nothing to do. PANIC! I suggested we head to the mall for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. The children, Nash especially, reluctantly grabbed their Easter Baskets with grumbles and came along.

A section of the mall had been cordoned off and the floor was covered with what looked like close to a thousand plastic Easter Eggs and there were kids everywhere, just waiting for the ropes to drop and the drama to begin. The Butler children put on their game faces and quickly came up with an egg retrieving strategy. I am proud to say they did an incredible job filling their baskets, their shirts, their pants, and their mouths. After they had all the eggs they could carry we found a place in the always crowded mall to examine the spoils. Hidden in the eggs, almost miraculously to the children we discovered exactly 5 tickets to the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus. What luck! I knew the circus was coming to town and decided to check my phone on the exact dates. Well, it was already in town and happening in 2 hours. We rushed downtown to the Verizon Center and secured our seats and even got to enjoy the pre-show where Harley was made part of the clown's act and we got up-close and personal with the elephants.

It was a surprising turn of events in what we were afraid would be another cold and possibly boring Saturday!

Monday, March 2, 2015

Magic Kingdom is inevitably the most intense day, with the biggest crowds, but it is so much fun. We arrived to the park around 7:15 and didn't leave until almost 9PM. We were in line for the resort bus by 6:30 and while waiting the kids found a new friend, named LEAFY.

TIP: If you arrive before the park opens you get to watch the opening show. All the characters arrive by train. They sing and dance and you count down together for the gate opening. When the gates open, fireworks explode. It was was so exciting. I got a little weepy.

I love each of their choices for Mickey Mouse ears. They all fit their personality perfectly. I will just let the pictures and videos tell the story of our magical day.

DAY #4
Animal Kingdom is so lovely. The plant-life, the animals, the shows. The Lion King Show and Finding Nemo were our favorite of the whole trip. Some of our favorite rides were also at Animal Kingdom, including Dinosaur & Expedition Everest.

Can you see the hippo? We saw so many animals on our safari-lions, cheetahs, giraffes, zebra, elephants, rhinos. It was incredible.

Harley got her face painted. She wanted a Mike Tyson tribal tattoo, while I was trying to convince her to be a butterfly. A bear with fangs was our compromise.

Sometimes you just gotta sit down and take a break. Actually, I think if this is all we did on vacation Nash would have been happy.

Dinner was at Rainforest Cafe with Grandpa and Grandma Butler. Then onto swimming at the pool.